Cigarette lighters



United States Patent SEARCH ROOM BEST AVAILABLE COPY Inventor Frederick J. Karran l9 Falbro Crescent, Hadleigh, Essex, England Appl. No 751,571 Filed Aug. 9, 1968 Patented Nov. 24, 1970 Priority Aug. 11, 1967 Great Britain No. 37062/67 CIGARETTE LIGHTERS 8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

U.S.Cl 431/344, 25 1/7 Int. Cl F23d 15/00 Field of Search 62/50;

Primary Examiner- Edward J. Michael Atromey- Baldwin, Wight & Brown ABSTRACT: A gas-operated cigarette lighter having a variable control valve comprising a gas flow passage with a deformable wall through which gas flows to a burner nozzle, and an inclined operating surface provided with means for longitudinal adjustment which acts to adjust the position of the deformable wall to vary the cross-sectional area of the passage.

BEST AVAILABLE COPY Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,542,499

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY CIGARETTE LIGHTERS This invention relates to cigarette lighters and is more particularly applicable to gas-operated cigarette lighters in which the gas is burned at a burner. With lighters of this kind it is desirable to be able to control the size of the flame emanating from the burner and this can be achieved by providing a variable control valve which controls the gas flow by varying the cross-sectional area of the flow passage between the tank containing the gas and the burner nozzle.

According to the present invention a gas-operated cigarette lighter has a variable control valve comprising a gas flow passage with a deformable wall through which gas flows to a burner nozzle, and an inclined operating surface provided with means for longitudinal adjustment which acts to adjust the position of the deformable wall to vary the cross-sectional area of the passage.

Thus. in a lighter according to the invention accurate control of the cross-sectional area of the flow passage can be achieved allowing for accurate control of the size of flame.

Preferably the flow passage is provided by a deformable tube which may be made from any convenient material such as natural or synthetic rubber for example. neoprene or a plastics material.

In any case, the inclined operating surface is preferably provided on a wedge-shaped member which can slide longitudinally in a guide.

With this construction the guide may be formed as a slot in a carrier member which is provided with a bore into which the slot opens and in which the flow passage is provided.

Thus, when the flow passage is formed by a deformable tube. the wedge-shaped member in the slot will act on the tube where the slot opens into the bore.

in a convenient construction the wedge-shaped member is biased towards a predetermined longitudinal position. for example. by means of a compression spring, and preferably the longitudinal position of the wedge-shaped member is controlled by a screw-threaded operating member.

With this arrangement accurate control of the wedge is provided by the screw thread which will thus allow for very small variations in the cross-sectional area of the tube when adjusted.

in a preferred construction a burner control valve is arranged between the deformable wall of the flow passage and the burner nozzle and this gas flow valve may be provided in a control chamber. into which the flow passage opens.

The control valve will be operated by the lighter-operating means and is preferably biased towards an open position. means being provided to retain it in a closed position when the lighter is not in use.

The invention may be performed in many ways but one embodiment will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of part of a cigarette lighter incorporating the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same construction on the line ll-ll ofFIG. 1.

ln the arrangement to be described and as shown in the drawings a gas-operated cigarette lighter is provided with a burner unit 1 which is for mounting in a bore 2 in the main body 3 of the lighter. This burner unit comprises a cylindrical sleeve 4 which acts as a carrier member and which is provided with a coaxial bore 5. Arranged in the bore 5 is a deformable tubular wall 6 made from a natural or synthetic rubber such as neoprene. or a plastics material and this tube 6 extends for the complete length ofthe bore 5 apart from a short portion at the upper end. The upper end 7 ofthe bore 5 is chamfered at 8 to provide a sealing surface for a burner valve 9. to be described. Mounted in the lower part of the tube is a hollow needle 10 which is in turn carried on a disc ll. the needle 10 being inserted into the tube 6 until the disc 11 engages the lower end of the sleeve 4. This needle is for use with the detachable fuel tank 12 shown partially in H6. 1. A horizontally extending slot 13 is provided in the sleeve 4, the slot 13 having parallel upper 14 and lower 15 sides and opening into the bore 5 in which the deformable tube 6 is carried. Mounted to slide in the slot 13 is a wedge-shaped adjusting member l6 having an inclined operating surface 17 adjacent the wall which opens into the bore 5, this surface being inclined in relation to a guide wall 18 opposite to it and which slides against a wall 19 provided to close the slot in the sleeve 6. in an alternative construction the slot is replaced by a rectangular bore through the sleeve. in which case the wall 19 is provided by one wall of the bore. The wedge-shaped member 16 is provided with a longitudinally extending screw threaded bore 20 into which a screw-threaded operating member 21 extends. The outer end of the operating member 2! remote from the bore 20 is arranged to project externally of the lighter casing and carries a small knurled operating knob 22. The inclined operating surface 17 on the wedge bears against the wall of the deformable tube 6 in the bore in the sleeve 4.11s shown in H6. 2. and acts as a cam so that when the knurled knob 22 is rotated the wedge-shaped member 15 moves longitudinally and the inclined operating surface 17 causes the wall of the tube 6 to be deformed to thus vary the cross-sectional area and hence the fuel flow capacityof the flow 23 passage provided in the tube. A compression spring 24 is provided at the end of the wedge-shaped member 16 displaced from the operating member 21 to bias it towards an open position.

The sleeve 4 is mounted in the main body 3 of the lighter in the bore 2,- the upper end of this bore being extended by a smaller bore 25 so that a chamber 26 is provided between the body and the step provided by the small bore. Mounted in this chamber is the burner valve 9 which is in the form of a cylindrical piston. 27. the lower side of which is provided with a projecting boss 28 which carries a sealing ring 29. A burner boss 30 projects from the other side of the piston 27 and extends through the small bore 25 so that when the valve is open as shown in FIG. 1 gas can pass between the boss 30 and the inner surface of the bore 25 where it can be ignited. The piston 27 is biased towards an upward position by means of a compression spring 31 arranged between it and the end of the sleeve 4 and the upper surface of the piston is provided with radial slots 32 to allow the gas to pass across it and into the small bore 25 when the valve is open. The valve is held in a closed position by appropriate operating mechanism indicated by the broken line OM on the top ofthe lighter when it is not in use but when the mechanism is operated the piston is allowed to rise and gas can thus flow through the flow passage 23 under the control of the inclined operating surface 17. through the valve 9 past the O-ring 29. up the side of the piston 27 and through the small burner bore 25.

The mechanism for closing the valve could be atop cover or a plunger or any other device incorporated in the operating mechanism ofthe lighter.

lclaim:

1. In a gas operated-cigarette lighter, a fuel tank; a burner nozzle; a carrier having a bore; fuel passage means including a deformable wall mounted within said bore and providing an adjustable passage for flow of gas from said fuel tank to said burner nozzle; a guide in said carrier extending adjacent said deformable wall; an adjusting member mounted wholly within said guide to be guided by said guide in movement relative to said deformable wall and having an inclined cam surface operable during such movement of said adjusting member for engaging and applying lateral pressure to the outside of said deformable wall when said adjusting member is moved in one direction and for relieving lateral pressure on the outside of said deformable wall when said adjusting member is moved in the opposite direction, thereby adjusting the deformation and the fuel flow capacity of said deformable wall; and operating means connected to said adjusting member within said guide and projecting outwardly through and from said guide and beyond said carrier and being operable for moving said adjusting member selectively in opposite directions.

2. A lighter according to claim 1 in which said guide provides a straight guide surface extending transversely to the BEST AVAILABLE COPY passage in said deformable wall and in which said adjusting member is slidable on said guide surface with its cam surface facing said deformable walli 3. A lighter according to claim 1 in which said deformable wall is constituted by a tube of resilient material selected from the group consisting of natural rubber synthetic rubber. and plastics material.

4. A lighter according to claim 2 in which said deformable 7 wall is constituted by a resilient tube and in which said cam surface of said adjusting member directly engages the outside of said tube.

7. A lighter according to claim 6 in which said operating means comprises a serew-threaded member having an inner end in screw-threaded engagement with said adjusting member and being provided at its outwardly projecting end with an operating knob.

8. A lighter according to claim 1 including a burner control valve forming part of said fuel passage means and being operable independently of adjustment of said deformable wall for selectively permitting and preventing flow of fuel to said burner nozzle bore. 

